I'm Home
by Chibi Binasu-chan
Summary: River Song is serving time for murder, but is allowed out on special and dangerous missions to seek pardon. She often sends a message to her husband for assistance, but he doesn't always show up on time. River x Doctor/dark themes.
1. One

**Note: **I'm a little rusty, but its spring break now, and I'm impatient for DW to start back up again on the 30th! So I thought I'd take out my excitement in the form of a dark fanfic. This will be a longer story, with an estimated 14-16 chapters. Please review – reviews make me happy, let me know how to improve my writing, and I would love you forever. ;)

**Disclaimer: **Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.

**Setting: **In between _the Wedding of River Song_ and _Asylum of the Daleks_.

**Rating: **M for violence, sexual violence – this story is very dark, you have been warned!

**I'm Home**

_Chapter One_

The planet Vascon. With its putrid odor, sandy winds, and streets filled with the scum of the universe. What in the name of sanity had drawn her here?

Combat boots firmly stepped down the alley-way. It was perpetually night on this disgusting planet, so her night vision shades had the double function of allowing her to see in the dark and to protect her eyes from the constant barrage of blowing sand. She licked her lower lip that felt chapped beyond repair; no flirty lipstick on this mission, for her own safety. No need to attract attention from those she was not hunting.

A voice from behind her forced her to quietly slam her back against the dry mud wall. She was insane to have picked this project, what the hell was she thinking? The voice and two pairs of feet began to shuffle down the alleyway in her direction, dragging a large object behind one of them. She pressed her lips together firmly in resolute determination and wiped the blood that fell from them with her dark green jacket sleeve. Thirty-five days of meticulous tracking and planning on this damn planet and now she felt nervous? She wouldn't allow herself to feel that. She pulled up the bandana from around her neck to cover her mouth and nose.

They were very close now. She pulled out her little gun and pressed the record button on the devise implanted in her arm. The outlines of two standing humanoids and a third dragged on the ground appeared on her night vision shades. The tall leader was growling in Vascilion, which translated in her head, "You damn fool, you let him escape! He could have made me a fortune, but now his beautiful skin is lost to the Vasco devise."

"My lord, that is only if he gets off Vascon, and that is impossible. I will find him."

"You better had, or I'll take it out your hideous hide."

Taking in a deep breath as her gun beeped in alarm that it was fully charged, she stepped out from the wall and pointed it, "Not a step further."

The two stopped abruptly, with the tall leader falling behind the shorter one, "And who dares address me with that tone of voice?"

"Stay back, my lord, I'll handle this."

The short one whipped out a large baton-like weapon, but she knew better than to stay in one place and jumped out of the way. A rattling noise hit the ground she had been standing on, but even her night vision shades couldn't pick up the thin wire that she knew had nearly trapped her. She shot at the short one with a beam of green energy, but he ducked just in time.

"Ah, a professional. Could it be the mysterious Song I have heard whispers about?" the tall leader had a grin in his voice. "You are not the first that has failed to capture me, but I must admit, I am impressed by your reputation."

She was barely able to contain the gasp that threatened to spill from her lips, they knew her name? _Shit,_ she cursed inwardly. Her cover had already been blown. River was only able to take one step back as she felt the sharp sting of the wire before her ears could even hear the rattling of his discharged weapon. The wired net wrapped around her entire body and constricted her breath. Her gun fell to the ground first, then the net's homing device yanked her off her feet and she slammed to the ground hard.

The short one barked a snide laugh and bent down to snap the night vision shades from her face, leaving her in complete darkness. He grabbed the bandana and ripped it from her face, and she could smell his sickening breath, "I see you're a pretty one. Maybe you will serve our lord better as a pet than you could ever have been a soldier."

"Bring her along to the fort as well, Captain Skarbek, and we will deal with her there. Yet another failed attempt I can profit from."

"Yes, my lord," Skarbek took hold of the handle of the net that was over the top of her head, grabbed the other trapped humanoid's net, and began to drag them both along the dirty alleyway.

River could barely breathe, and no longer wondered why the other prisoner had been silent this whole time. It would be impossible to speak with the net so tight around her throat. She attempted to maneuver off of her side and onto her back so that the recording device could get clear audio. She managed to take a gulp of air and quieted her mind to handle the pain. This was only the beginning.

It took just another few miles to reach the fort, she had been so close to it. After guards allowed them inside and onto a cool stone floor, the tall lord left into another room with a short bark of orders, leaving River, the other prisoner, and Skarbek alone.

A blue light came on, and River's eyes squeezed shut against it. Her eyes slowly adjusted after days of being in the dark outside as she listened to Skarbek untie the other prisoner. River blinked several times and saw an unconscious human male lifted by Skarbek and strapped into a tall machine against the wall. Poor soul had likely been dragged for many more miles before her.

This was the unknown part that she had been unable to gather any information about. Her stomach lurched in anxiety. Skarbek approached her with a nasty grin on his Vasconian face. River half-wished she could erase that face from her memory, but knew that would be counterproductive. His peeling, rotting skin would have made her vomit if she had any food in her.

Skarbek lifted her while still wrapped by the wired net and only untied the net when she was already partly strapped into the machine against the wall. His grin never left his face, as though he especially enjoyed this.

River coughed as the wire loosened off her throat, "What is this thing?"

"Oh, don't you know?" Skarbek snickered. "You're the bounty hunter, shouldn't you have done some research?" That caused him to laugh outright, "You'll find out right now, then." And he yanked her button down jacket down the front, and then ripped her under shirt apart as well, leaving her chest completely bare. He traced her breast with a rough finger, "This won't hurt too much. And then maybe I'll have some fun with you."

An hour later, River found herself being dumped into a dimly lit room with no clothes on. A female Vasconian servant stepped in and began dressing her in a strange material and revealing dark blue dress. The Vasconian pulled out the tie in her hair to allow her blonde curls to fall down her back. The room was quiet until the Vasconian whispered, "It will heal soon, and only a small scar will remain on your chest. You are lucky to have been assigned as a slave." She wiped away the tears River didn't even realize had spilled down her face.

River breathed through her nose to try and calm down, "What.. what did they put in my chest?"

The Vasconian hesitated, "..The Vasco device. You can never leave Vascon again. That is all I can tell you."

Then the servant left, and River was alone with her thoughts.

_Of course_, the entire situation was beginning to make more sense. This was something the Clerics had pretended they knew nothing about, but they had to have known. The mission's true plan started to come together in River's mind. It was actually a suicide mission she had been promised would lead to a pardon. And there was nothing she could do about it now except continue to follow the plan. Burning anger built up in her exposed and aching chest.

She looked around the room. It was clearly the master's personal apartment, with a small kitchen, dining room, and large bed. She had succeeded in being brought directly to him, even though she had to endure his second in command. This was certainly not something she'd be putting in her diary, if she ever got back to her cell where it lay…

The voice of the tall lord, the criminal mastermind behind this entire scheme she had vowed to put an end to, filtered into the room. He was debating something of political importance with the second in command, Captain Skarbek. River could only shiver from the chill of his rough voice. This was not going to be big on dignity.

That's when she heard a soft mechanical noise at the window. _Oh dear sanity, _she could only think in dread. _Late as usual, and now he's going to ruin the whole damn thing before I can explain. _

The window creaked open and he popped in clumsily, somehow landing both feet on the floor. The Doctor glanced around before settling his eyes on River, "Honey, I'm home."

River could only breathe through her nose in an attempt to remain calm as she heard footsteps from the other room start to get closer, "And what sort of time do you call this?"

_To be continued…_

**Note: **You're not meant to know everything yet, so don't panic, we'll get there in time! Please leave a review with your thoughts, I would really appreciate it! Thanks very much!


	2. Two

**Note: **Thank you for reading.

**Disclaimer: **Doctor Who is owned by the BBC.

**Rating: **M for violence, sexual violence, dark themes.

_Last time: The Doctor glanced around before settling his eyes on River, "Honey, I'm home." River could only breathe through her nose in an attempt to remain calm as she heard footsteps from the other room start to get closer, "And what sort of time do you call this?"_

_Chapter Two_

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, you bad girl?" The Doctor's usual smirk and peppy attitude seemed a bit strained to River as he looked her up and down. She realized she must look a wreck. A second's analysis of the Doctor himself though and she concluded that there was something not right about him either. He appeared scuffed up and dirty, even bruised.

The footsteps were coming closer. "Get out, get out!" She hissed, motioning for him to leave through the door behind her.

He finally noticed, but instead jumped behind the wall's curtain that hid him from view.

The Vasconian crime-lord stepped in just a second after. River turned quickly to him, really seeing him for the first time. He was very tall and appeared middle aged, with the same cracked and peeling skin as Skarbek that all Vasconians shared. His eyes, however, were glimmering golden ovals similar to a cat's.

The room was quiet as he stood there, him staring at her and her staring back at him. After a moment, he smiled in a way that was friendlier and somehow more terrifying than Skarbek, "I see there was little point to scolding Skarbek for touching you. You are still not broken. I nearly demoted him, for you see, I wish to break you myself." He began to slowly pace around her with a slight limp of his left leg, taking a full examination of her, "Yes, you are a pretty one. Your skin is somehow.. _different_ from other humans. "

River felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"You say nothing, but I can hear you thinking. A few have been able to track me down over the years, even without my name. I suppose these eyes of mine are noticeable," he stepped very close to her, "So are yours. They have so much passion and.. strength to them. What a terrible loss it would be.. if that were plucked from them." His eyes lowered to her marred chest and exposed cleavage. He reached out a gnarled hand..

A hardly stifled sneeze from behind the wall curtain made him stop abruptly. River's stomach dropped.

"Who's there?" the Vasconian growled.

The Doctor slowly side-stepped out from behind the curtain with his hands coming up, "Ohhh.. so this is your bedroom.. I was looking for the loo.. I'll just be going now."

"Skarbek!"

The captain appeared from the side-door with the net baton in hand and a ruthless look of blood-thirst.

The Doctor jumped forward and grabbed River's hand from her side and they ran out the other door. River could barely keep up with him. The material of her dress pulled on her in a strange way and she nearly tripped over it twice. Her chest wheezed from the implant wound. They were running in the dark down stone corridors and could only see faint outlines. The sound of running boots and angry Vascilion yells followed them.

Finally they turned a corner into a small cubby in the wall and River found herself in her husband's arms. She could smell the planet's dirt and grime on him. They both attempted to quiet their breathing as they heard footsteps pass by. Their pursuers hesitated, then continued running in the opposite direction.

River felt a burning in her chest. She wanted to smack him. No, she wanted to kiss him, and then smack him. In unison they whispered, "Where the hell have you been?" – "What the hell are you doing here?"

Although she couldn't see him, River could sense a deep pain exuding from the Doctor that she wasn't sure was physical or emotional, or both. She felt his hands grip her arms a bit tighter, and had a moment of anxiety as she remembered that the recording device in her deltoid was following their conversation. The Clerics would now know she had compromised the mission by inviting the Doctor. But that's _if _she even ended up getting her recordings to them by the end of all this.

"..Where are _we_?" the Doctor murmured.

River let out a breath, "Well, I suppose you could say this is our honeymoon."

"This?" the pitch of his voice lowered, and she could feel his fingers shaking around her biceps. "This? A honeymoon on the planet Vascon, the slave-trade and black-market underworld of the universe?" His voice was pinched, "River.."

"You think I can't handle it? Oh sweetie," she pretended to be coy. "I'm a bad girl, remember? Just think of it as a little bit of rough role-play. Besides, the Vasconians won't want anything of _you_, you're not human."

The Doctor's frustration seemed to grow, "..You aren't entirely human, either."

"Well then I'll be just fine, won't I?" River did her very best to sound confident. She refused to show him her fear.

"Do you not know what else they do here, eh?" The Doctor's voice was dangerously low and heated, and what River feared most - protective. "We need to get out of here, and we need to get out of here now. Come on."

He pulled on her, but River pulled herself back. She had to find a way to avoid leaving with him. "I messaged you weeks back! Where have you been?" she demanded.

She wished she could see his face, for he didn't reply. But she had enough clues to take a guess of his exhausted and furious expression. His grip on her arms was now painful and the darkness of the corridor seemed to thicken. Something was going on, and she hated not knowing what.

The stone corridors were suddenly loud with footsteps. River took in a deep breath. She couldn't escape and abandon her mission, she had to stay, she had worked hard for this. The Doctor pulled on her again, but she stood firm.

"It's too late now, sweetie, I must stick to this plan. You never showed up to change my mind," and that was only partly true; she always knew this was the best plan to achieve her goal despite the physical costs, but knew the Doctor would never approve of it. She would find a way back out of it once she had the key, somehow, and prove him wrong.

"What plan could you possibly have here?" the Doctor sounded incredulous, as she expected. This was breaking so many of his rules, she almost never wanted him to find out.

The footsteps were close, and River pushed the Doctor away, "Run! I cannot go with you. Run my love!" There was no doubt in her mind that he was trying to come up with solutions or bargains to try and get her to run with him. She pushed him on his chest harder and heard him grunt in pain. The Vasconians were nearly upon them, and she tried to keep down the fear that she might never see him again.

She could hear his feet shifting quickly and see the outline of his arms flailing in his usual dance of desperate indecision. "I'll come back for you," he swore with a growl before finally turning and running away.

"Get him! Get him! You damn idiots! Don't let him get away again, Skarbek!" and a pack of Vasconian men stampeded past her. _Again? _she thought in a blur.

Golden eyes appeared next to her and within an instant she was slammed against the stone wall by his body. The gnarled hand choked her by the throat. "Sneaky bitch, I don't have time for your games. I'm on a tight schedule." His grip squeezed. "I am your master now. And you will kneel to me. You are special. But do not think that means I will not hurt you."

River wasn't sure if she was screaming, or if she was even breathing at all with his hand still choking her. She was too afraid for the Doctor to think about fighting back, and her world faded to complete darkness. When she awoke, she found herself lying on a plain cushion, listening to the sound of metal wheels turning. She was in some sort of carriage. The smell of the dirty planet wafted in through the very small and open window.

She breathed in and out slowly and looked around the dark and musty carriage. She was alone again. She was alone. And then she cried bitterly, hating herself. Where would the Doctor be now, and how the hell would he find her again if she was being carted off to some other place? Her thoughts raced to a dozen undesirable endings.

River sat up and glanced down at the slowly healing scar on her chest, unable to see the bruises on her neck. Her dress was a bit tight, so she tried to pull it into a more modest position. Something made a clanking noise. It was only then that River realized her ankle was bound by a chain to the floor, and seemed to be missing a visible lock. Not that she would escape even if she could. Her mind was set.

Her decision was confirmed when her golden eyed captor poked his head in from the front window to look at her with a rough smirk. He seemed to ravish her with his eyes.

River raised her chin and took in a deep breath of courage. "Where are you taking me in this dingy old thing?"

His crusted eyebrow raised and his grin seemed to gleam in the dim light, "Ah, my professional bounty-hunter reveals her true self. Your spirit is not broken, yet." He chuckled in a low voice that promised danger, "We go to the citadel."

There was River's confirmation. She almost allowed herself to smirk with pride. None of the Clerics had ever made it this far into the Vasconian crime-lord's lairs or business, let alone become his personal pet always by his side. The role was not an easy one to attain or to act in, but River was determined to make the best damn show she could. Success was her only ticket out.

"Perhaps at the citadel, my special one, we will get to know each other.. a bit better.. and you can forget all about your confederate. He is mine for the profit," her both prey and predator's lips curled nastily.

River could only stare back as a stabbing anxiety settled into her starving stomach. How could she do this to the Doctor, and how the hell would they make it out of this mess together?

_To be continued…_

**Note: **Thank you for reading and reviewing – please don't hate me, and please leave me a note on your thoughts.


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